Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Urgent Care Becomes Even More Appealing as Short-Staffed Primary Care Offices Take Weeks for Appointments

Efficiency and accessibility have always been two key attributes that set urgent care apart from traditional primary care. With primary care providers in short supply these days, however, some healthcare consumers are finding urgent care centers to be essential to meeting their needs. Action News Now reported the story of one such family in Redding, CA, who found it next-to impossible to find a new PCP for their 80-year-old matriarch who had recently relocated to …

Here Are Two More ‘Side Effects’ of COVID-19 Vaccine That Are Actually More Dangerous with the Virus

Research continues to support the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and to disprove the perceived likelihood of many dangers associated with them. Most recently, a Research Letter published by JAMA Network takes aim at the misperception that pregnant women who receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine are at increased risk for spontaneous abortion. Looking at 105,446 unique pregnancies at eight U.S. health systems, the researchers found that “among women with spontaneous abortions, the odds of COVID-19 vaccine exposure …

Vaccination of 5- to 11-Year-Olds Against COVID-19 Isn’t Just Approved—It’s Urgent

At this point, you’ve probably heard that the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that children 5- to 11-years-old be vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer pediatric vaccine. What may be news is the sense of urgency the CDC is exhibiting in sharing the news, with the agency suggesting in a statement that healthcare providers “begin vaccinating them as soon as possible.” While the perception of the public (and some public officials) …

Word Choice Can Help or Hinder the Odds of a Good Outcome with Patients Who Are Overweight

Many patients with diabetes loathe being called “diabetics” and people with autism may blanch at being called “autistic.” And studies, some reported on in JUCM News, have shown that the words a healthcare provider chooses actually influence outcomes. Using patient-first language (eg, “a patient with diabetes”) is a good first step toward a productive clinical relationship, whereas putting the disease first (“the diabetic patient”) can leave someone feeling demeaned or paint the clinician as uncaring, …

It Just Keeps Getting Clearer: Younger Patients Don’t Have Time for Traditional Primary Care

Generation Z and Millennial healthcare consumers are staying away from traditional primary care practices in ever-growing numbers according to new research by the communication firm R/GA. Future of Health Experiences reveals that 40% of Gen Z survey respondents said they visit a primary care provider either once a year “or never or rarely.” The same is true of around one third of Millennials. Rather, they’re more inclined to seek care the moment they need it, …

Don’t Find Out the Hard Way—Vaccination Status Should Not Influence Testing for COVID-19

We all know that COVID-19 vaccines (like all vaccines) are not 100% effective in preventing infection. And we’re still learning just how long protection can be expected to last. As such, patients with symptoms that could be attributed to SARS-CoV-2 should be tested for the virus regardless of their vaccination status. An urgent care operation in Michigan learned this the hard way after they declined to test a 74-year-old woman who presented with sinus congestion, …

COVID-19 Cases Are Waning—but So Is Vaccine Immunity. It’s Time to Stress Booster Shots

With the rate of COVID-19 cases and related deaths continuing to slow, there could be a collective sense of hope among the public that Thanksgiving 2021 will see a return to large gatherings without fear of infecting, or being infected by, loved ones. While the U.S. is currently in a healthier situation than it was a year ago, assuming the danger of the pandemic has passed would be both premature and dangerous. Rather, it’s time …

Learner Presence Does Not Negatively Impact Patient Experience in Pediatric Urgent Care

Urgent message: Shorter urgent care visits are correlated with higher experience scores. The presence of learners does not negatively impact patient experience scores. David Skoglund, MD, MS; Brian Lee, PhD, MPH; and Amanda Montalbano, MD, MPH Citation: Skoglund D, Lee B, Montalbano A. Learner presence does not negatively impact patient experience in pediatric urgent care. J Urgent Care Med. 2021;16(2):30-36. ABSTRACT Objective The number of trainees seeking pediatric educational opportunities in community outpatient settings is …

Be Aware: Brain and Body Are on Different Timetables in Recovery from COVID-19

Even patients who recover quickly from COVID-19 infection may continue to struggle with brain fog months after they’re past physical symptoms of the virus, according to a new research letter published online by JAMA Network Open. Perhaps most surprisingly, cognitive dysfunction showed up in patients between 38 and 59 years more than 7 months post infection. The data were drawn from the cases of 740 patients tracked through a Mount Sinai Health System registry between …

COVID-19 Cases Are Falling, but Patients Are Still Delaying Care. They Should Be Heading Your Way

Even though rising COVID-19 vaccination rates are helping to slow the spread and severity of the virus, a lot of patients are still putting off care that could help them reduce their risk for serious health consequences. According to a new report from NPR and Harvard University, as aired on Houston Public Radio, as many as one in five American families continue to delay care for everything from routine treatments to serious illness. Seeing as …